Meta owns the social networks Facebook and Instagram and adopted its current name in October 2021.
The company was previously called Facebook, Inc. It announced the corporate rebrand to Meta Platforms, Inc. on October 28, 2021, while keeping Facebook as the name of its flagship social network.
Meta’s family of products includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. The company also develops virtual- and augmented-reality hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including the Quest headset line.
The rebrand was intended to signal a broader focus beyond social networking, especially on the metaverse. It did not create a new public company or remove Facebook from the business. Meta remains a publicly traded technology company whose market capitalization changes with its share price and share count.